Enemy Lines

The Sports Xchange Enemy lines: LB Harrison, Ravens talk deal Former Pittsburgh Steelers' outside linebacker James Harrison, a central figure in the ongoing rivalry with the Baltimore Ravens, could cross enemy lines in free agency. According to Harrison's agent, the Ravens reached out to gauge Harrison's interest in playing in Baltimore. "I've talked to Ozzie, sure have, had a good talk about James," said agent Bill Parise in the Baltimore Sun. "It's early and we're not in...

The Bowe Bergdahl controversy reminds one of the Korean War and the refusal of 20 some American POWs to return home at the war's end. No one knows just how many of those individuals were brainwashed or honestly thought the war was wrong and didn't want back into the U.S. Today, the question boils down to what was Bergdahl's motive for walking away from his post? Did he actually think he could escape through enemy lines and get home? Did he join forces with the Taliban in...

Behind Enemy Lines," to be aired at 8 p.m. Sunday on NBC-Ch. 5, is a made-for-television movie that is as uninspired as its title--a routine reworking of the oft-told, double-dip cinematic chronicle of Nazis-in-Norway and infiltrators-in-jeopardy. Set in 1943, it stars Hal Holbrook as Col. Calvin Turner, a Harvard history professor spending the war as head of the special operations branch in the London-based Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the CIA....

An 89-year-old U.S. World War Two veteran who was wounded when his plane crashed in occupied France in 1944 received a Purple Heart medal Saturday, an honor he declined 70 years ago. Richard Faulkner was a 19-year-old staff sergeant when the B-17 bomber in which he was flying on his first combat mission collided with an allied aircraft. All aboard were killed except Faulkner, who parachuted to safety and was stranded behind enemy lines. "It's just...

The Bosnian War becomes a video game, Gene Hackman turns into a pseudo-John Wayne, and Owen Wilson and Vladimir Mashkov impersonate The Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote in "Behind Enemy Lines," a pumped-up, flag-waving, outrageously hokey and ridiculous -- but sometimes incredibly exciting -- war movie. First-time feature director John Moore won this assignment because of his 1999 SEGA video game commercial for the MTV Music Video awards, and the film looks a lot like a flashy TV commercial.

The Sports Xchange Enemy lines: LB Harrison, Ravens talk deal Former Pittsburgh Steelers' outside linebacker James Harrison, a central figure in the ongoing rivalry with the Baltimore Ravens, could cross enemy lines in free agency. According to Harrison's agent, the Ravens reached out to gauge Harrison's interest in playing in Baltimore. "I've talked to Ozzie, sure have, had a good talk about James," said agent Bill Parise in the Baltimore Sun. "It's early and we're not in...

As a young boy, Harry E. Paney received an expensive train set from his father that he traded within hours to a friend for his first camera. "He got in some trouble for that one," his son Wayne said with a laugh. So began a lifelong passion and successful career in photography, movies and television, loved ones said. "One of his favorite lines was, 'I can't believe they actually pay me for doing this,'" his son said. Mr....

Samar Yazbek's “A Woman in the Crossfire” brings its readers into the dark, tense space where the author has found herself: “within the range of two or more lines of fire, from both enemy and ally alike.” The memoir, Yazbek's first work of nonfiction, takes us back to the hopeful and chaotic beginning of Syria's now 19-month fight against the ruling regime. In the book, we see relatively little of the perilous street protests, assaults on towns and bombings that have killed tens of thousands.

The Bowe Bergdahl controversy reminds one of the Korean War and the refusal of 20 some American POWs to return home at the war's end. No one knows just how many of those individuals were brainwashed or honestly thought the war was wrong and didn't want back into the U.S. Today, the question boils down to what was Bergdahl's motive for walking away from his post? Did he actually think he could escape through enemy lines and get home? Did he join forces with the Taliban in...

2.5 stars (out of 4) With "The Less You Know, the Better" (Verve), only his fourth studio album in 15 years, pioneering hip-hop DJ Josh Davis - a k a DJ Shadow - creates what is essentially a mix tape of all his favorite moves, a grand tour of many of the genres and styles he's explored. On his 1996 debut, “Endtroducing …,” Shadow built a magnificent alternative world entirely out of snippets of carefully assembled samples. Brooding, hypnotic and...

Nearly seven decades after John Chrenka slid across the English Channel in a boat headed toward Omaha Beach, the memory still hits him like gunfire. "There were three of us in the front row, shells flying all over the place, guys hollering," said Chrenka, 88, of Riverside. "If you say you weren't scared, you're a liar because I was scared stiff." As Chrenka's boat drifted into shallow water, the staff sergeant turned to his friend on the right: "I said, 'Good luck, John.

Mass for Dominic J. "Bud" Silvio, 61, of the Belmont-Central area, was said Saturday in St. Louise de Marillac Catholic Church, 1144 Harrison Ave., La Grange Park. Mr. Silvio, who died Wednesday in Community Memorial General Hospital, La Grange, was a hoisting engineer with the Chicago Water Department until his retirement a year ago. He belonged to the 409th Fighter Squadron in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, serving in advance radar positions, often behind enemy lines.

Amid the backyard cookouts and ball games, let's not forget the point of Memorial Day: to honor Americans who gave their lives in military service and to remember all those no longer with us who served. Some of their names are famous. Men like Nathan Hale, the Connecticut teacher who joined the Patriot army and stepped forward when George Washington asked for volunteers to gather information behind enemy lines. Hale was caught by the British and hanged as a spy, but he left us with...

An 89-year-old U.S. World War Two veteran who was wounded when his plane crashed in occupied France in 1944 received a Purple Heart medal Saturday, an honor he declined 70 years ago. Richard Faulkner was a 19-year-old staff sergeant when the B-17 bomber in which he was flying on his first combat mission collided with an allied aircraft. All aboard were killed except Faulkner, who parachuted to safety and was stranded behind enemy lines. "It's just...

Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti is primed to experience a homecoming like no other when his NL West champs face the Cubs in the opening round of the playoffs Wednesday. A Franklin Park native and alumnus of East Leyden High School and Northern Illinois University, Colletti was one of the original Wrigley Field "Bleacher Bums" when the Cubs entertained their rabid fans in the late '60s. He was hired by Cubs general manager Dallas Green as an assistant to media...

Henry Rosen Jr., 85, a well-known resident of Palatine for more than 40 years, died Monday in Northwest Community Healthcare, Arlington Heights. Mr. Rosen was a World War II Army veteran decorated for heroism behind enemy lines, and the retired owner of the Palatine News Agency. He was born on Garfield Avenue on Chicago's South Side, grew up in Hyde Park and attended the University of Chicago until he was drafted into the Army in 1941. Mr. Rosen was discharged later that year at the...

By taking a gamble that Jim Edmonds still can be a productive center fielder and hitter, Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry knew he was inviting criticism from fans who have invested a lot of time loathing the former Cardinals star. "There is really no negatives in it," Hendry said. "You're not giving up players. You're not spending a lot of dollars, so you look at things like that and, hopefully, he'll be able to give us at least a great portion of the Jim Edmonds we all knew and used to fear in a lot of ways."

You are 4 years old and playing in the park. It is time to go, but you have other ideas. In the face of your parent's rising consternation, you toddle off in the opposite direction. Then the magic, mind-bending words are deployed: "All right, go ahead," says your parent, who is beginning to turn away from you. "Go ahead, and I'll leave without you." Leave without you. Your 4-year-old mind is quick to apprehend the ramifications. You are to be left behind. Cut loose....

William "Bill" Michalowski, age 88, a Naperville resident since 1955, at rest Saturday, April 26, 2008. He was born March 9, 1920 in Chicago, IL, the son of the late Michael and Anna Michalowski. Bill lived through the Great Depression and survived by joining and serving for four years in the Civilian Conservation Corps work relief program, a part of Roosevelt's "New Deal". He was a decorated WWII Veteran serving in the European theater and the African Middle Eastern Theater from 1941 -...